GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

"Well then come over. That blade won't stab me from over there." Helios taunted him.

Tyke considered the distance between them. He indeed needs to get within arm's reach of Helios, but he isn't willing to move. Moving is a bit difficult for him right now. He will gladly prefer for Helios to come to him. He shook his head slowly to signify his reluctance to move.

Helios dashed forward the moment he turned his head sideways to execute his slow head shake. Tyke saw him coming and wasn't flustered. He knew he has lost his previous speed and agility. He can't evade the strike so he readied his weapon and prepared his stance. Then he stabbed forward the blade.

"This is almost no challenge." Helios thought to himself as he sidestepped the attack.

Tyke tried again with all he has. His hand moved in a blur of motion as he swiped the blade toward his opponent. The stab had been a faint but Helios didn't fall for it. Helios bent down and the blade went over his head.

Then Helios punched him in the belly so that Tyke can finally let go of all the blood he has been accumulating in his mouth. Blood spurted out of Tyke's mouth and he bent over in pain. He wasn't disoriented by the blow, so he saw what Helios did next as clearly as he can with the blurry vision of his one partially open eye.

Helios stood up, turned, and delivered a roundhouse kick to Tyke's head. Tyke tried to block with his other hand but it did nothing to lessen the impact. The sole of Helios' feet slammed into his face and pushed him back. Tyke suddenly found himself flying.

He fell down and Helios jumped on him before he could get up. He held his neck and began punching his face. His fist met the flesh of Tyke's face and broke it, then it smashed into the exposed flesh to reveal more of it over and over again. He tenderized his opponent's face as one will tenderize meat.

Tyke struggled to resist but he couldn't push Helios away. He became powerless when more and more blows struck his head. His purple blood spilled everywhere. He groaned in pain and begged for mercy but none heard his strained pleas. The crowd was going wild. The sound they made covered the desperate cries of the doomed demigod.

"Kill him!" "Kill him!" "Kill him!"

The crowd is in a frenzy of excitement. They clamored for him to kill Tyke. There is purple blood everywhere, on the ground, on the body of both fighters, and more is still coming out. Blood leaked out of Tyke's face as Helios' fists sought to level it. He slammed the back of Tyke's head down on the stage when he became satisfied with his gory work.

"You hear that, little guy? They want me to kill you." He said to the disoriented Tyke.

Tyke can't hear what he is saying. There's only a buzzing drone in his skull. It could be due to the bursting of his eardrums or all the blood filling his head.

"I'm going to kill you and I'm going to do it well."

Helios picked up the ceremonial blade and held it to Tyke's throat. His actions riled up the crowd. They cheered more and whistled.

Then he began to behead the helpless demigod. Except the blade isn't sharp. It can't break Tyke's skin. Stelios had agreed to the intervention but he chose a dull blade. The blade is purely ceremonial and can't hurt a mana entity because it is made of materials fitting for those of vitality core stage refiners since any mana equipment will break around giants of order. The blade should be useless no matter whose hands it fell in. Stelios was protecting his interest.

Helios became increasingly angry. The fury that he had been burying within him began to boil. "This whole thing is a farce."

He stopped trying to behead the incapacitated demigod. Instead, he placed the blade into Tyke's mouth. Tyke couldn't resist no matter how much Harkam shouted for him to do so. Helios held his head and placed it on the ground. Then he smashed the prone head with his foot. The blade pierced the defenses of Tyke's mouth and went into his neck.

It is then that Tyke began struggling more and more but Helios held him down while using the ground to push the blade farther in. Death is coming to his opponent and he had brought about that death through the work of his hands. He should feel satisfied, but through it all, he only felt anger.

'I am not happy.'

He was eager to fight and was enjoying himself when it started despite what Stelios did but now it has become a chore. That nonsense with the intervention ruined the experience for him.

'Someone has died. And for what?'

Helios has no problem with killing. Either for his pleasure or for actual benefits. Ending someone's life is the right of the strong. The weak have no choice but to die. But here he is, the victor of a Deathmatch, unhappy with his victory. The fight that he was looking forward to became a game because of some rules. He killed Tyke not because of his amusement, but for the entertainment of the gods.

The blade finally finished its gory work. Tyke stopped struggling as he is embraced by death. His broken and disfigured arms flopped uselessly by his side. His legs twitch occasionally but he is surely dead. Helios raised his bloody hands to the cheers of the crowd.

'Enjoy it while you can. The day of reckoning will come soon.' he thought to himself as he smiled.

He has become an entertainer for all these people, mortals and divine alike. He fought and killed for their pleasure, not his. He believes everyone has the right to do whatever they want. He wouldn't mind unless their actions are against his interest. Their actions have vexed him and they must be prepared to pay the price.